50 years ago, Black Sabbath made their first concert ever

Black Sabbath made their first show with this name at the Marquee Club on March 13, 1969.

The band Earth, formed by Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums) made their last show with that name in Marquee London, on March 11, 1969; at the same venue two nights later, March 13, the band was announced as Black Sabbath.

EARTH – Marquee Club shows

03- January -196906- February -196928- February -196911- March -1969

Black Sabbath – Marquee Club shows

13- March -196914- November -196916- March -197014- May -197008- July -197015-September -1970

Black Sabbath Marquee Club 1969

The band

Black Sabbath were an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968, by guitarist and main songwriter Tony Iommi, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward, and singer Ozzy Osbourne. Black Sabbath are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history.

They were ranked by MTV as the “Greatest Metal Band” of all time, and placed second in VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” list. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them number 85 in their “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. They have sold over 70 million records worldwide. Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. They have also won two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance, and in 2019 the band were presented a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.